Only one chaperon was staying overnight with a group of 31 Chicago teenagers when several sneaked out of their dormitory at an Algonquin camp last November and took paddle boats onto the Fox River, where three teens subsequently drowned, according to a report released Tuesday.
The report detailed an investigation by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources into the Nov. 14 drownings of Melvin Choice III, 17, Jimmy Avant, 18, and Adrian Alexander Jones, 16, three students from North Lawndale College Prep who were attending a leadership program at a YMCA camp.
Among the new details revealed in the report are that only one adult chaperon, a teacher at North Lawndale College Prep, stayed in the students’ dorm overnight during the weeklong camp, while several other adults stayed in a different building. The chaperon overseeing the students was asleep when several teens sneaked out during their final night at the camp to use the paddle boats, the floor plugs of which had been removed for winter storage.
Four of the teens had also taken one of the paddle boats onto the river three nights before the drownings, the report said. A YMCA employee noticed that one boat was missing the next morning, but no further action was taken to secure them, according to the report.
The report concluded that operator inexperience, hazardous waters, cold weather, clothing and failure to wear personal flotation devices contributed to the accident. No criminal charges are being pursued, authorities said.
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